The emergency management structure that exists in the United States has its origins in the civil defense efforts that arose after World War II in response to the possibility of nuclear attack. In the 1960s, the field of emergency management began expanding, and by the 1980s, the focus had widened to the multi-hazard approach that prevails today. The primary goal of emergency management is to prevent injuries, save lives, and reduce property damage in your community.

Emergency management activities include services to individual citizens and public and private entities that result in minimizing the effects, and speeding the response and recovery from any human-made, natural, or technological emergency or disaster. Emergency management encompasses mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery activities. It is increasingly clear that these critically related services must continue to evolve and be responsive to each changing situation and the needs of the community.

Emergency management has not always taken a multi-hazard approach in defining its activities. Originally, civil defense against military nuclear attack was the central focus of emergency management. The belief was that if communities planned and prepared for a nuclear attack, the worse case scenario, they had covered and provided contingencies for all other emergencies and disasters. 

Since 1980, League City’s activities have focused on coordinating response and recovery to all hazards from the wide array of natural, man-made, and technological disasters. In the past few years, the focus has been moving toward mitigation activities which would lessen the effects of future disasters, while maintaining a strong response and recovery capability.

The evolution of emergency management has come about for a number of reasons, many of which involve shifts in public policy at the federal level. The demand for federal disaster relief funds has skyrocketed with a series of severe and widespread disasters in the United States within the past five years. This demand has prompted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to review its approach to disaster related services, placing mitigation as a much higher priority for federal, state, and local efforts. 

There is a greater competition for funds that are distributed for all phases of emergency management. There is an increased expectation that states will establish pools of resources for response and recovery efforts, lessening the dependence and burden on federal resources. Within the state, there is an expectation that cities will enhance their emergency management capabilities, increasing their ability to deal with emergency situations with less reliance on state and federal assistance.